Chili cook-off: Benefits Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officer whose home burned down

KALAMAZOO — A chili cook-off Thursday will benefit a Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officer and his family, whose Schoolcraft home was destroyed by fire.

More than 60 pots of chili will be entered and Mayor Bobby Hopewell and Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley will be celebrity judges for the cook-off from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Life EMS, 517 E. North St., Kalamazoo, said Jed Wild, a paramedic with Life EMS.

Tickets are $5 and all proceeds will go to Frank Orfin, a 19-year veteran of KDPS, and his wife Becky. The Orfins in 2006 started the Cuff and Ladder Fund, which helps police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel in need in Kalamazoo County.

The investigation continues into the fire reported at about 1 a.m. Saturday that destroyed the Orfins’ home, said Tracy McMillan, chief of the South Kalamazoo County Fire Authority. It is not considered suspicious, he said.